Free The Whispering Trees by J. A. White Page A

climbed off Kara and began gathering together at her feet, a growing mass of shifting bodies that ballooned to her height before suddenly shrinking and reshaping, the bodies falling into one another, combining, until a creature the size of a pony stood before her, its face withered and wise and old.
    â€œAll of you,” Kara said. “You’re all part of the same creature.”
    She stroked the grettin’s back, marveling at the lumps sliding beneath its skin like a sack of marbles. From the back of its hind leg protruded a bushy tail that had gotten confused during the transformation.
    Kara rose to her feet and waved to Mary and her brother, dim shapes in the approaching darkness of morning.
    â€œYou have to come and see!” she called. “It’s wonderful!”
    â€œAre you sure that’s a good idea?” Mary asked, holding Taff back. “I don’t want to scare it off.”
    Kara bent down so she was eye level with the grettin, and scratched behind its ears.
    â€œIs that all right with you?” she asked, and because the creature was on Kara’s side of the mind-bridge she knew it understood. “Can my friends come and see how pretty you—”
    A low growl rumbled in the base of the creature’sthroat. Kara took a step backward, thinking that she had completely misjudged the situation. This is a trap , she thought, snatching her hand back while she still had all her fingers. It’s going to attack me!
    But then she found the grettin’s gentle eyes and saw that it held no malice in its heart, for her or any other creature. The growling was meant as a warning, and as Kara realized this, the growl changed into something different, something her mind could latch on to and understand.
    Sledgeworm come! Teethsome! Rungofast! Now!
    But it was too late.
    The ground quaked as a monster thudded to the earth. It had no legs, but instead balanced itself on arms corded with thick, reptilian muscle. The skin of its squirming torso was concealed beneath a garden of moss and fungus.
    Blighted , Kara thought.
    The sledgeworm bent forward, lifting its maggot-likebody into the air to balance its body weight, and Kara found herself staring into vermillion eyes rank with madness.
    â€œRun, Kara! Run!” Taff exclaimed.
    The sledgeworm opened its mouth, revealing a gruesome combination of fangs and thorns. A vine shot from the place a tongue should have been and whipped around the grettin, holding the flailing animal in place.
    Through the grettin’s half-closed eyes Kara saw a look of somber acceptance.
    It is time , she heard it say. Fate for such as I .
    â€œNO!” Kara shouted.
    Even later, Kara would be hard-pressed to explain what had happened. The best way she could put it was that the grettin was on her side of the mind-bridge, and because of that it had to listen to her. Kara didn’t give it a choice.
    â€œEscape!” she shouted.
    The grettin exploded, no longer one creature buthundreds, slipping between the sledgeworm’s teeth and into the night, the monster snapping at its prey but unable to catch something so small and fleet.
    â€œYes!” Kara shouted. “Run!”
    She thought she might have heard a chorus of chirps in the distance, coalescing into one last message.
    Thank you .
    Kara’s triumph, however, was short-lived.
    The sledgeworm turned its full attention to her. It was too stupid to truly comprehend what had just happened, but seemed to be aware, in a very basic way, that this small human had somehow stolen its breakfast. Heart galloping in her chest, Kara backed slowly away. Her instinct was to turn and run as fast as she could, but she fought it, afraid the sudden motion would spur the monster to attack.
    Kara felt a hand flat against her upper back.
    â€œMagic, wexari ,” Mary whispered in her ear. “Control it. Make it yours.”
    The sledgeworm took another giant arm-step forward. Something stringy and